DESCRIPTION (Parts have been adapted directly from the application) This program is designed to train research oriented endocrine biochemists. Moreover the program will develop pre- and postdoctoral trainees with a broad intellectual background and experimental expertise in aspects of endocrinology which are anticipated to be in the forefront of this discipline. It is hoped that the insights obtained may play a role in alleviating those diseases in which hormones play an important role. The faculty in this program have considerable research experience exploring the mechanisms of action of the steroid, thyroid and polypeptide hormones and growth factors, and with the receptors, soluble and membrane bound, with which they interact. Endocrine regulation of gonadotropin secretion and of mammalian germ cell development is also under active investigation. Members of the training faculty are actively engaged in diverse yet complementary research programs including: the processes by which endocrines regulate gene expression; the cellular and molecular events by which transported and diffusing polypeptides regulate normal and abnormal differentiation; and the processes of endocytosis which mediate certain polypeptide hormone functions. The program propose to train two postdoctoral fellows and five predoctoral students per year. The participating departments are Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Genetics and Development, Medicine, Pathology, Urology, as well as the Center for Reproductive Sciences, and the Institute of Cancer Research. The training program will include course work, workshops, participation in seminars, and research. The full educational resources of Columbia University and its Medical School are available to the trainees. Relevant courses are offered in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biological Sciences, Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Genetics and Development, and Microbiology.